According to study results published January 9, 2012 in an advance online edition of Tobacco Control, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and UMass Boston have found that nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) appears to have a relapse rate of about one-third for ex-smokers who use them.
All of the 787 participants in the study were adult smokers who had recently quit. They were surveyed on three occasions -- 2001-2002, 2003-2004, and 2005-2006 about whether they had used NRTs (including the patch, gum, inhaler and nasal spray) to quit smoking, and if yes, what the longest period of time was that they'd used the product. They were also asked whether they had sought professional help from a doctor, counselor or program to quit smoking.
For each time period surveyed, close to one-third of recent quitters had relapsed. Study authors Hillel Alpert, research scientist at HSPH and Lois Biener of UMass Boston's Center for Survey Research found there to be no difference in relapse rates if the people had been heavy or light smokers, or used NRTs for more than six weeks, with or without counseling.
"This study shows that using NRT is no more effective in helping people stop smoking cigarettes in the long-term than trying to quit on one's own," Alpert said. He added that even though clinical trials (studies) have found NRT to be effective, the new findings demonstrate the importance of empirical studies regarding effectiveness when used in the general population.
Researchers pointed out that NRTs are not a "magic pill" for success, suggesting that increasing cigarette taxes might be more effective as an incentive to quit. They also think policymakers should consider shifting focus away from providing funding for NRTs and put the money into anti-smoking campaigns.
Are NRTs an Effective Quit Aid?
Before you abandon NRTs if you're using them, or cross them off the list of potential quit aids if you haven't stopped smoking yet, remember that quit aids are just that - aids/helpers. With a well-rounded quit program that includes education and support, any of them have the ability to help us succeed, NRTs included.
We are fortunate to live in a time when there are so many choices available to help us quit smoking, because just as no two people are alike, neither are their quit programs. Where cold turkey might work well for one person, NRTs are the answer for another.
Human life is being extinguished due to tobacco use at the rate of one precious and irreplaceable soul every 8 seconds somewhere on the planet, day in and day out. If NRTs help one-third of those who use them to quit smoking for the long-term, how can that be anything but a plus?
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It is really that surprising that NRT is not as effacacious as how it has been touted, as as smoking cessation treatment. After all, by itself, NRT, only treats one aspect of the struggle to quit smoking, the physical dependency, the addiction, to nicotine, it offers no direct aid to combat the extremely serious psychologicial dependecy that may be just as critical, if not more so, to quitting smoking long-term.
The most effective smoking cessation programs will address both of these vital issues that make quitting smoking so difficult. One new mobile smoking cessation app on available on Android devices now, named, “Quit Smoking, Start Now,” does just this with a step-down mechanism to gradually wean the smoker of off nicotine and offers important features to combat, disrupt and break the psychosocial cues that often trigger the lightng-up process.
I am using NRT’s currently in my quit plan. I had never even thought about usung them before, because of the costs. When I ended up in the hospital and couldn’t have one, they slapped a patch on me, and sent me Sheryl the next day. I wasn’t in the best shape, and she upped my dosage….things got much better after that! Because of the “funding” I am able to get my nrts for free as long as I go to class. Which is the way it should be. I am learning to cope with the mental part of my addiction while slowly weaning my body off of nicotine. After trying so many times on my own and always having the same results. It’s actually refreshing to deal with the “mental” part of this seperately, than being ovewhelmed with dealing with both sides of this addiction at the same time. After 24 years of smoking, with the help of nrts, support from groups and family I have now been smoke free for 10 days and counting! Which is the farthest I’ve ever been on my journey, and the strongest! While I know it doesn’t work for everyone, it should be available (with medical help) to anyone who is ready to give up smoking.